Use of a computer for communicating online with others has recently become popular with the increased awareness by the public of the Internet and of services provided by commercial service networks. In addition to enabling access to information and exchange of messages, a link to the Internet or to a commercial service network provides an individual with the opportunity to interact with others who are connected to the network. Users of an on-line service may interact through a chat session as described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,731 that is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. A user typically accesses a chat service website through a personal computer of the type shown in FIG. 1A.
Personal computer 30 includes a processor chassis 32 in which is mounted a floppy disk drive 34, which is suitable for reading and writing data from and to floppy disk (now shown), and a hard drive 36 suitable for nonvolatile storage of data and executable programs. A monitor 38 is included for displaying graphics and text produced when an executable program is being run on the personal computer and for use in connection with the present invention, for displaying a graphic chat session to a user.
Input can be provided to personal computer 30 using either a mouse 40 for manipulating a cursor (not shown) on monitor 38, which is used for selecting menu items and graphic controls displayed on the monitor by pressing an appropriate selection button (not shown) on the mouse, or by input entered by the user on a keyboard 50. Optionally, processor chassis 32 includes a CD-ROM drive 47, which is suitable for reading programs and data from a CD-ROM. To enable personal computer 30 to communicate during an online chat session, an external modem 41 is coupled to a serial port on processor chassis 32. Optionally, a modem may be included internally within processor chassis 32. The modem also connects to a telephone line to convey signals bi-directionally between computer 30 and a server at a remote on-line service (not shown) to which other participants in a chat session are connected in a similar fashion.
FIG. 1B shows an example of a graphic chatroom as it appears on the monitor of a display device, typically a computer 30. One or more participants in a graphic chatroom may assume an animated on-screen personality called “avatar.” For example, an avatar 9, which represents the host of the chatroom, welcomes participants with an introductory text message 8. In such a graphic chatroom, avatar 9 is displayed (see act 10) by computer 30 at an initial location on monitor 38 (FIG. 1A), and thereafter computer 30 checks if the mouse has moved (in act 11), and if so, receives (in act 12) the new position, and transfers the new position to other computers (of other participants in the chat session), and displays (in act 13) the avatar in the new location on monitor 38. Thus, a chatroom participant 20 (FIG. 1A) can manipulate its avatar by using the keyboard 50 and mouse 40 of his computer 30. An avatar's response to the input appears to be real-time to a participant 20. Manipulation of an avatar can result in not only moving an avatar from one locale to another on the screen, but also expressing emotions, dancing, sending a text message, or sleeping, among other options.
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram 31 in which components housed within processor chassis 32 (of FIG. 1A) are illustrated. A motherboard (not shown) includes a data bus 33, which provides bi-directional communication between these components and a CPU 53. The components include a display interface 35, which drives monitor 38, providing the video signals necessary to produce a graphic display during the chat session and when running other executable programs running on the personal computer. A hard drive and floppy drive interface 37 provides bi-directional communication between floppy drive 34 and hard drive 36, and data bus 33, enabling data and machine instructions comprising executable programs to be stored and later read into a memory 51. Memory 51 includes both a read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). The ROM is used for storing a basic input/output operating system used in booting up personal computer 30 and other instructions essential for its operation. Machine instructions comprising executable programs are loaded into the RAM via data bus 33 to control CPU 53.
A serial/mouse port 39 provides an interface for mouse 40 a data bus 33 so that signals indicative of movement of the mouse and actuation of the buttons on the mouse are input to CPU 53. An optional CD-ROM interface 59 couples optional CD-ROM drive 47 to data bus 33 and may comprise a small computer system interface or other appropriate type of interface designed to respond to the signals output from CD-ROM drive. Optionally, a sound card 43 is connected to data bus 33 and its output is coupled to an amplifier and speaker system 52 to provide a sound capability for personal computer 30. Output signals from keyboard 50 are connected to a keyboard interface 45, which conveys the signals from the keyboard to data bus 33. If external modem 41 is not used, an internal modem 54 can be provided, which is coupled directly to data bus 33. Alternatively, external modem 41 can be connected to the data bus through a serial port of personal computer 30. It should be noted that instead of using a conventional modem, other types of digital adapters can be used to couple personal computer 30 to a telephone line.
Client and server software in the Tc1/TK language to implement a graphic chatroom is available from, for example, http://openverse.org/. An example of virtual reality software for use in forming graphic chatrooms is at http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/˜graphics/MRToolkit.html that describes a MR (Minimal Reality) Toolkit for the production of virtual reality systems and other forms of three-dimensional user interfaces.
With the increasing use of modems operating at speeds of at least 28.8 Kbps on commercial networks, graphic chat sessions are becoming more practical. As noted above, in a graphic chat session, some or all of the participants are represented by avatars or icons that are grouped in a graphic environment or “world.” In addition to a graphic window showing the chat world, the display screen on each participant's computer commonly includes a chat pane and a message entry pane. When another user joins the chat session, the person's identifier, moniker, or name is added to a list. In some chatrooms, a number of different avatars are provided from which a participant may make a selection. Usually, a participant selects an avatar by using the keyboard 50 and/or the mouse 40 on a pop-up window of the sort depicted in FIG. 3A. Sometimes, the participant has the opportunity to customize the avatar selected and alter the appearance of the avatar as used in various gestures or animations that can occur during a chat session. For further details on user selection of avatars, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,731 (incorporated by reference above).
Some chatrooms even allow the participants to upload (from outside of the chatroom software) a picture or icon into the chatroom, e.g. if participants see an icon they want to use as an avatar at a website. One example of such a website that has icons available for use as avatars is illustrated in FIG. 3B (see http://members.tripod.com/˜mYLaGe/misc2.html). Therefore, pictures that could be used as avatars include M&M® characters 81 and 82 (FIG. 3B). It is also well known to use M&M® characters in PC games, such as “The Lost Formulas” available from Simon & Schuster Interactive.
Also, a user may create their own icon for use as an avatar, e.g. by use of a graphics editor such as Paint Shop Pro available from Jasc Software, Inc. 7905 Fuller Road, Eden Prairie, Minn. Legal protection for such characters is described by, for example, Pierce O'Donnell in the article entitled “What You Need To Know About Character Protection—Has James Bond Made the World Safe For You?” available through the Internet at http://www.legalelite.com/articles/(a)podonnell01.htm.
During a graphic chat session, comments that have been transmitted by those participating in the chat session appear in a text pane or a speech balloon next to the user's avatar, and any message being entered by the user appears in another pane on the user's computer display screen. Avatars can move freely throughout sites, express themselves through gestures and body language, as well as interact with the environment by playing games, moving objects, decorating rooms, participating in presentations with other users, and making purchases from interests generated from within the chatroom.
In chat sessions involving a well-known person, hundreds of people may join the session, but only the host and the moderator are active in the chat session. All other participants are simply observers. However, one or more provisions may be made to display previously submitted questions from the observers for the guest. The host controls the chat session. The virtual space in which each chat session occurs is sometimes referred to as a “room” because the participants interactively communicate in the way they would communicate in a real room.
Typically, each participant in a graphic chatroom controls only his/her avatar in the chatroom, and each avatar in the chatroom is controlled by one participant. However, a user may acquire supervisory powers to control images on the displays. U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,296, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, discusses power to summon another user, power to create, modify, or delete objects, and an enhanced power to change locales within the chatroom. In order to control the behaviors of avatars, some chatrooms have “acolytes” that act as a chatroom police. Avatars can page an acolyte if they encounter an offensive behavior. An acolyte can then try to reason with the offender, or mute the offender if he cannot be reasoned with.
An article entitled “The Psychology of Avatars and Graphical Space in Multimedia Chat Communities” by John Suler, Department of Psychology, Rider University available at http://www.rider.edu/users/suler/psycyber/psyav.html#Types discusses various types of avatars, for example “matching” avatars and “clan” avatars. Matching avatars are designed to accompany each other and indicate a connection or a bond between the members represented by the matching avatars. Clan avatars are worn by members of the same social group. Clan avatars tend to share the same basic design with slight variations to differentiate one avatar from another. As such, each user announces his/her allegiance to the clan by adopting its collective visual appearance, while also maintaining some measure of individuality. Clan avatars are found almost exclusively among adolescents for whom belonging to a peer group—and conforming to its standards—is a developmental hallmark. Considerable creativity and technical skills may go into creating matching avatars and clan avatars.
Online communities can be formed using Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML). Business applications for such communities are described in, for example, “The Business Benefits of Online Communities” by Amy Oringel and Konstantin Guericke, available at http://www.vrmlsite.com/apr97/a.cgi/spot3.html. As stated therein, until recently, multi-user virtual communities were mainly considered a vehicle for gaming and entertainment. Although gaming and entertainment markets will continue to grow, a greater profitability lies in the business applications of virtual communities. Shared virtual environments provide companies with personalized communication channels that can be used for a myriad of purposes, such as reaching the target market or collaborating to develop a successful internal framework. Natural interactions in virtual environments offer a heightened experience to users and a cost-effective model to the hosts.
As noted in the article authored by Amy Oringel and Konstantin Guericke, companies of all sizes can use shared environments over the Internet as open communication channels with their customers. Use of the shared environments benefit the customers by providing them with a way of interacting with the company representatives in a more personalized manner than writing a letter or sending an electronic mail to a faceless employee. Likewise, use of the shared environments benefit the companies by allowing them to reach their target consumers much more easily than with an HTML site. By using the shared environments, companies may receive feedback or offer services. Furthermore, when satisfied customers share their positive experiences with a company and its products, the customers themselves become advocates for the company and its products.
However, the shared environments are often not as effective as a live company representative who can form a more personal bond with a potential customer than an order form. This lack of personal bond prevents shared environments from being as effective of a customer interaction channel as it can be. Customer service, shopping malls, trade shows, and sales showrooms are examples of applications that could significantly benefit from the shared virtual environments if the problem of lack of personal bond can be solved.